LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` This is an event in world history , '' is how Hollywood producer Avi Lerner hyperbolically proclaimed the news that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were to star in his new film .

De Niro and Al Pacino in a scene from their new movie `` Righteous Kill , '' out this fall .

Lerner can , perhaps , be forgiven for getting a little carried away .

After all , it 's not every day these two Hollywood greats appear together on screen .

Lerner is fully aware that by getting De Niro and Pacino to pair up in his latest venture `` Righteous Kill , '' he has hit movie paydirt .

`` They were in two scenes in ` Heat . ' In this movie , they are in the whole thing together , '' he tells Variety magazine .

The pairing of heavyweight actors Pacino and Tribeca film festival founder De Niro is something which has tantalized film fans since their separate scenes in `` The Godfather Part II '' -- 34 years ago .

With 115 films and three Oscars between them , the two stars first acted together in the 1995 thriller `` Heat , '' albeit very briefly in two unrehearsed scenes .

So `` Righteous Kill '' is something of a coup for Hollywood director and producer Jon Avnet , who made 1996 's `` Up Close and Personal '' and 1991 's `` Fried Green Tomatoes . ''

The longtime friends will star as two veteran New York City detectives on the hunt for a vigilante who may be one of their own . It is prime De Niro/Pacino territory , as Lerner acknowledges in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times .

He says : `` They 're playing New York City detectives ; they are as New York as it gets . De Niro and Pacino the way you want to see them . ''

`` They 're both very opaque , '' he adds . `` You do n't know whether they 're going to kiss someone or kill them . And that suspense is what makes their performances so intense in the moment . ''

`` Righteous Kill '' is a remake of a hit French thriller , `` 36 Quai des Orfèvres '' -- the address of the French CID in Paris -- which also saw the pairing of Gallic cinema kings Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil .

De Niro , 67 , said the film , to be released in September , came about because of their longstanding friendship and a desire to work on a longer project together .

`` We are old friends , and he is a terrific person and great to work with and that was it you know , it was great , '' he told CNN 's `` The Screening Room '' at the opening of the Tribeca film festival in New York .

`` Because the other movie that we did , we had one great scene . I loved the scene we had where we meet in the restaurant and then the end of the movie .

`` And ` Godfather ' we were in the same movie but two different time periods , so we are in a movie now where we actually work a lot together . ''

Pacino , who recently turned 68 , says their friendship enhances the acting experience .

`` I love Bob , so it 's fun , '' he told Entertainment Weekly . `` I 've known him since I was a little boy . Bob wisely did n't want to rehearse our first scene together , on ` Heat . ' And I 'm glad he did n't . There 's a comfort level that 's very important .

`` You can rehearse till the cows come home but that comfort level is what it 's about . ''

Although the prospect of seeing Hollywood icons such as De Niro and Pacino on screen is one to savor for many fans , some have questioned whether this new film will be anything to write home about , based on the quality of their recent output .

The two acting legends have come under fire for making questionable `` payday '' movie choices like Pacino 's critically panned `` 88 Minutes '' -- also produced by Lerner and directed by Avnet .

Reviews for De Niro in films like `` Analyze That , '' `` Hide and Seek '' and `` Godsend '' have been similarly scathing .

Some argue , perhaps unfairly , that their body of work has become so polluted by poor choices , that many have forgotten what made them so great in the first place .

Perhaps this is what prompted long time collaborator Francis Ford Coppola , who directed Pacino and De Niro in `` The Godfather '' trilogy , to accuse them , along with Jack Nicholson , of lacking ambition and passion .

Coppola was quoted in GQ magazine last year as saying : `` I do n't feel that kind of passion to do a role and be great coming from those guys , because if it was there , they would do it ! I mean , they 're all in a position to do it . ''

Coppola later told reporters during the Rome Film Festival that the comments were `` obviously bent out of shape '' by the magazine .

`` I was astonished because it was n't true , '' he said . `` I have nothing but respect and admiration for the actors . These are the three greatest actors in the world today , and they are my friends . ''

However , his supposed views obviously struck a chord with others . In March , De Niro came top in a poll by the online edition of Entertainment Weekly to find `` the most shameless pay check role . '' He won for agreeing to play Fearless Leader in The Adventures Of Rocky and Bulwinkle in 2000 .

While Los Angeles Times , film critic Patrick Goldstein accused the pair of `` becoming parodies of themselves , making payday movies that are hollow echoes of the electrically charged work they did on such films as ` Serpico , ' ` Dog Day Afternoon , ' ` Mean Streets ' and ` Taxi Driver . ' ''

He added : `` If anyone has made more movies for the money than Pacino , it would be De Niro , who has largely abandoned serious dramatic work for a spate of forgettable horror and crime thrillers . ''

Between them Pacino and De Niro have starred in some of best films ever made , and as they approach their 70s , it would be fair to say they have earned the right to slum it a little .

And as Ryan Gilbey of the Guardian newspaper puts it : `` Do n't we all find the armchair that bit comfier as the years go by ?

`` Why should De Niro be any different just because he made his name as one of the most visceral and searching of screen performers ? '' E-mail to a friend

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Al Pacino , Robert De Niro co-starring in `` Righteous Kill ''

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Two actors have co-starred in movies , but rarely shared scenes

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Some have questioned whether the film is worthy of their talents